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Marmol Aida

I don’t know that it came down from Mitch and Murray, maybe just Hendry…but finally Piniella took a stand and made the switch to Marmol as the Cubs’ closer. Grabow and Guzman were considered but this round goes to Marmol. Just like anything else, I’m sure it could play out to a situation by situation component of the Cubs pitching staff. Lou was quoted as saying that Grabow and Guzman will get opportunities to close games as well and that there is no timetable for how long Marmol closes.

But now what. How will Marmol respond? Will he step up and be the guy I’ve seen him as in the closer role in my mind? Or will he let the pressure go to his head as he’s had some mental toughness issues this year? 29 opportunities and six blown saves by Gregg. Finally Lou admitted it was time to go after these close ballgames different and secure some tough wins as opposed to constantly sweating tough losses. The Cards are real strong right now and are considering bringing on Smoltz. Out of the bullpen that will only make them stronger. Why the Cubs didn’t make another pitching move to bolster their own pitching (you can never have enough) I don’t know. At least if the pieces don’t change, we can rearrange and maybe finally figure out how to successfully put his puzzle together.

It’s good too to hear Lou admit they’ve been headed in the wrong direction with Gregg. A lot of admittance going on in the Cubs clubhouse with Lou speaking up and Z finally admitting that perhaps he’s not exactly the spokesperson for 7 minute abs. Now if only we can get him to admit he’s not paid to hit home runs during batting practice. That would be a real accomplishment.

I actually thought we were in decent shape last night until we were defeated by of all things, an inside the park home run. Is there any other way to lose a ball game that we haven’t seen already this year? Have we seen them all? Anyone else notice that whomever is at the plate, whichever team it may be, always scores or does something positive when MLB Network checks in on a game? It says it’s live, but I feel like any time I’ve seen them check in on a game, like last night’s Cubs game for instance…they score. I was watching MLB and they checked in on the Cubs game. Soriano was up, Cubs down 3-2. And it kind of took the drama away because I just knew they were going to tie it up with the way the check-in’s work. Sure enough, bloop single by Soriano, RBI, tie game. Just saying…anyone else notice this?

Good to see Dempster putting up 10 K’s. Would be better to see him get the W as well. A lot of that of course comes down to the bullpen taking better care of leads. Let’s hope Marmol and the newly organized bullpen do just that. Second place may be a set of steak knives, but as Gregg found out…third place is you’re fired.

On a more amusing note…I’ve never been to San Diego. However, if ever there were a time I wished I was, it would be seeing Piniella get stopped for jaywalking. How he restrained himself from firing his hat down and kicking dirt on the traffic cops shoes would have been a hilarious sight to see.

Harden up tonight. Here’s to him getting over the .500 mark. Go Cubs Go!

Writing for:

MLB.COMVINE LINE MAGAZINE - The official publication of the Chicago CubsBASEBALL DIGESTCONNECTICUT TIGERS - Class A Short Season Minor League Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers
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